Marina Anastasova won the first European Championship title for Bulgaria in ski mountaineering. She triumphed in the vertical race discipline in the women’s under-20 category.
The European Championship was held from March 4 to March 8 in Shahdag, Azerbaijan, and included all age groups. The competition was overshadowed by a war that broke out days earlier in neighboring Iran, which caused some teams to cancel their participation or leave during the event.
Under these circumstances, Bulgaria’s young ski mountaineering prospect Marina Anastasova showed the strongest determination. On the course, which had a length of 3,787 meters and an elevation gain of +657 meters, she achieved a time of 41:14.3 minutes.
Second and third place went to the Turkish athletes Gulnur Sagir and Sueda Evci**. In the other two disciplines in which she competed, Anastasova finished fourth and fifth.
The other Bulgarian participant in the championship, Nikola Kalistrin, placed 19th in the vertical race, 29th in the sprint, and 31st in the individual race.
The next competition for Anastasova and Kalistrin will take place at the end of March, when the Junior and Youth World Championships will be held in Puy-Saint-Vincent, France.
/PP/